By Aaron Task Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) announced the sale of its newspaper business to Lee Enterprises (NYSE: LEE) this week for $140 million.
Warren Buffett’s firm has owned The Buffalo News since the late 1970s. In the early 2010s, it bought nearly 30 papers for $344 million.
In his 2012 letter to shareholders, Buffett expressed optimism about the importance of local news and prospects for the newspaper business. “I believe these papers will meet or exceed our economic test for acquisitions,” he wrote.
This week’s sale suggests the economics of the news business are too hard for even the world’s greatest investor.
To be honest, the …read more
